Details

Anglican church. C13, nave heavily restored 1872 by James
Woodman with the rebuilding of the north porch and addition of
the south vestry; chancel restored in 1878 by Ewan Christian;
further restoration of the nave in 1906-7 by PM Johnston after
it was gutted by fire. Flint with stone dressings, roof of
tiles. Chancel, nave, west tower, north porch, and south
vestry.
EXTERIOR: east window of 3 stepped lancets; shoulder-arched
entrance to south side of chancel, possibly of C19 date, and 3
lancets to north and south sides; 2 lancets to south side of
nave, 3 to north, and 2 small shoulder-arched windows near
apex of nave gable over chancel. South vestry with external
stack and decorative cowled chimney. Angle buttresses to west
end of nave. The west tower is square in plan and projects
from the centre of the west end; small louvred lancets to
north and south, corbel table and pyramidal roof. North porch
of flint and timber-framing with panels of brick nogging and
steep hipped roof of Horsham stone slab.
INTERIOR: the altar is a chest-tomb, said to be of Edward
Elrington who died in 1515, the front carved with shields in
quatrefoils. The chancel as a whole provides a good ensemble
of late Victorian decoration, paid for and partly in memory of
the Stanford family of Preston Manor: arcaded wooden reredos
of shortly after 1906; stencil decoration to walls;
pointed-arched roof, the closely-spaced ribs decorated with
stencil painting; choir stalls in broadly Gothic style carved
with foliage and figurative ornament; floor paved with
tesserae; stained-glass windows in memory of the Stanford
family. Early English chancel arch with chamfered detailing.
Remains of piscina in the south wall of the nave, and of early
C14 wall paintings either side of the chancel arch and between
the 2 easternmost windows on the north wall of the nave:
Nativity on the north wall, the murder of St Thomas a Becket
north of the chancel arch, and St Michael weighing souls to
the south. Painting of the Deposition over the entrance to the
south vestry, formerly part of the chancel reredos, of late
C19 date, with a gilded frame typical of those used by the
Pre-Raphaelites; possibly by NHJ Westlake.
Wall of flint with brick coping, extending approx 25 metres to
the south and approx 30 metres to the north from the west end
of the church; 5 buttresses to northern stretch, much rebuilt.
(Carder T: The Encyclopaedia of Brighton: Lewes: 1990-;
Pevsner N & Nairn I: The Buildings of England: Sussex:
Harmondsworth: 1965-; Guide for visitors to Preston Old Church
(St Peters); Information from David Beever, Keeper of Preston
Manor).

Listing NGR: TQ3038706388

Selected Sources

Books and journalsGuide for visitors to Preston Old Church (St Peters)Carder, T, Encyclopaedia of Brighton, (1990)Pevsner, N, Nairn, I, The Buildings of England: Sussex, (1965)

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